Time for effecting sweeping changes in Election Law is now!

Ours is a country of festivals and elections. It is no exaggeration to say that round the years with regular small intervals, we celebrate some festival or the other. Similarly, due to the existing three-tier system of election, aspiring candidates in particular and voters in general are busy in one election or the other. And indeed, this is a happy situation. Psychologists would agree that festivals and elections are indeed good for peoples' health. Both festivals and elections relieve the masses from monotony and lethargy which ultimately keeps the people vibrant throughout the year.

While festivals are generally related to Gods and Goddesses and other religious icons, elections directly impact the present and future of the people, called the electorate. Hence, the procedure and practice of celebrating this festival of democracy deserve more attention; and perhaps the constant attention.

Theoretically, the Constitution of India is a magna carta made by and given to the people themselves; but in practice, except a miniscule number of our 'largest' democracy, nobody knows about the very existence of this book which may rightly be termed as a holy book of our democracy ! Therefore, the first and foremost need of the hour is to 'popularise' salient features of the Constitution in different languages in a lucid language. In the present times when there has been a sort of communication 'explosion' by way of social virtual platforms and other electronic methods, this is definitely a practical and workable proposition.

Further, while educating the masses of all ages throughout the year should be a continuous exercise, emphasis on importance of voting and selecting the right type of candidates should not be missed whenever an election is round the corner. Articles 324 to 329 in Part XV of the Constitution empower the Election Commission to supervise, direct and control the elections to Parliament, state legislatures and the offices of the President and Vice-President of India. Keeping in tune with these provisions, the People's Representation Act, 1950 was enacted by the Parliament. There are appropriate laws in place in each State governing the elections to local bodies.

However, the basic issues remain unanswered. First, the concept of universal franchise. In simple terms, voting right for all and sundry who are plus 18 years of age. Considering the ground realities, such a provision goes against the very spirit of democracy! The word people is not to mean a bunch of flesh and bones alone. Obviously, masses without any discerning sense and concern for the lofty ideals of democracy are nothing but creatures. The sheer number cannot bring about a true democracy. In short, the present system of universal franchise needs to be replaced by weighted voting if not selective voting. It is a feasible proposition because several criteria such as education, criminal history, record of social service etc; can be fixed for granting weightage to a voter.

Another point that deserves immediate attention of all democracy lovers is creating conducive atmosphere for the really deserving candidate to win an election. Money and muscle powers, which are ruling the roost today, deserve to be replaced by fixing the minimum norms for becoming a candidate for an election. The Apex court too, has time and again, decried the prevalence of money and muscle power in elections and of late, has even issued guidelines in this regard. Now it is high time that all stakeholders follow the guidelines in letter and spirit. The minimum and maximum age limit for contesting an election, track record of social service with no criminal history and at least an Intermediate-level education may be prescribed as eligibility criteria for a candidate to the election.

Indeed, it is high time that a national-level debate is initiated on electoral reforms. May be the budget session of the Parliament commencing from January 31, can be best utilised for this purpose which would result into strengthening our democracy.

SC on Section 498 A of IPC

A clarification on the dowry harassment provision in the shape of Section 498 A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) came recently from the Supreme Court. While delivering a judgement recently, the Apex court held that taking the custody of jewellery for safety by the husband or his relatives from the wife cannot constitute 'cruelty' within the meaning of Section 498 A of IPC.

Delivering the judgment in Deepak Sharma Vs State of Haryana and others, a Division Bench of Justice Indira Banerjee and Justice JK Maheshwari also held that giving advice to a wife to adjust in order to avoid retaliation from her husband does not constitute cruelty within the meaning of Section 498 A of IPC.

'Gold smuggling not a terrorist activity'

A Division Bench of Kerala High Court comprising Justice K Vinod Chandran and Justice C Jayachandran in a judgment delivered on January 11, has ruled that while gold smuggling could threaten the economic security of a country, the same was not covered by the provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

With this observation, the court granted bail to the prime accused Swapna Suresh and seven others in the gold smuggling case which had generated much hype in the media.